Day 160: Acts 7:1-29

"And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household." - Acts 7:9-10 ESV

Stephen, the former table-waiter, now finds himself faced with a problematic question surrounding the false accusations brought forth about him and what he was teaching. Led by the Spirit, he perceives it is time to let these religious elites know what following Jesus was all about.

Of all things to bring up, Stephen decides to launch into a Hebrew Bible lesson, spanning the history of Israel, starting with Abraham. Though we don't have time to unpack why he puts so much emphasis in today's reading on Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, I do want to point out the language he uses to describe Joseph's experience.

From a spoiled son to a purchased slave and then onto being a prisoner, Joseph endured his fair share of "affliction." In it all, God was at work, rescuing him and laying favor on him everywhere he turned. Yet, rescue and favor didn't come without the trials. He wasn't given a free pass from hardship. Instead, Joseph had to walk through the high waters:  “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” - Isaiah 43:2 NIV

Are you feeling any resistance in this world as you follow Jesus? That doesn't mean that God has left you. He is still rescuing you and giving you His favor. This isn't going to be easy, but God will put you into a place where you can have maximum influence in this dark world.

"The sons of Jacob sold their brother Joseph into slavery in Egypt. But God was continuously superintending the accomplishment of that one increasing purpose which he inaugurated when he called the father of the faithful out of Mesopotamia, and which was to find its consummation in the coming of Christ." - Bruce, F. F. (1988). The Book of the Acts (pp. 136–137)

Day 159: Acts 6:1-15

“But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.” - Acts 6:10 ESV

Rarely do we hear of someone who is so young and this eager. Usually, the expectation is that God will place us exactly where we want to be right away, and when this doesn't happen, disappointment sets in. This can also go the other way, where we see ourselves trapped in a role, doomed to cycle through its grasp to what we see as the end of our days.

Stephen's story is one that should encourage all of us, no matter what role we find ourselves in today.  He was one of the Hellenistic Jews chosen to make sure their widows were getting what they needed as they distributed food. So how does a guy go from being a food referee to verbally body slamming the greatest thinkers of his time and place?

There were two differentiating factors at play, and both are relevant in any position or role in which you might find yourself:

1) Wisdom

2) Speaking by the Spirit

Both are not characteristics we acquire through hard work. They are, as we spoke of yesterday, gifts. Are you sensing a theme in Christianity? We are worshiping a gift-giving God. He gives us what we need and when we need it to accomplish all He's asked us to do.

"Jesus had promised the help of the Spirit (Luke 12:12) and wisdom (Luke 21:15) to his disciples when they were called upon to defend themselves. The early church proved the truth of this promise." - Marshall, I. H. (1980). Acts: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 5, p. 138)

We are still proving the truth of this promise today as we step out in faith to share the Good News about Jesus. Take your small step today. Go the way of Stephen in your faithfulness to Jesus.

Day 158: Acts 5:1-42

"The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." - Acts 5:30-31

These religious leaders are dumbfounded as to why the Apostles won't shut up. Their usual threatening hasn't worked as normally did. These men don't seem to be taking their orders from the same place as the other Jewish people. There is no stopping the supernatural impression of the Holy Spirit. What comes into us has to find expression in our lives no matter what the consequence.

The end of our reading for today shows one of those consequences (flogging), and it didn't seem to faze them.

What kind of gift do you get for someone who has everything? It is an impossible task. If there is no perceived need, no gift on earth will suffice. This is what the hierarchy of the Israelite faith was like in the first century. They didn't feel like they needed the gift of repentance (Luke 15:7) or any forgiveness (Acts 2:38). Yahweh had been pinned down to their own limits and expectations.

May we choose today to gratefully accept the gift of repentance and thus enjoy the burden-lifting power of forgiveness. Perhaps praying the following prayer and soaking in the final quote will be helpful as we close today.

"God, we come to You with open hands, needing your repentance and forgiveness. They are gifts that we never cease to desire and need. Thank you for being so generous. in Jesus' name, we pray, Amen." 

"Rather than suffering fearful intimidation, the apostles became even bolder. They considered it an honor to suffer 'for the Name' of Jesus." - Gaertner, D. (1995). Acts (Ac 5:41–42)

Day 157: Acts 4:1-37

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.” - Acts 4:13-14 ESV

How jarring it must have been for these Jewish elites to hear Peter and John claim that it was the name of the resurrected Jesus that healed this man who couldn't walk. They were the same group that tried Jesus at night and strong-armed Pilate into crucifying Jesus. Their worst fears had come back to haunt them. To make matters worse, the Holy Spirit was now starting to do the work through more than just one man. This would have broken Twitter.

There was nothing exceptional about Peter and John. They were fishermen by trade and had nowhere near the education of these religious leaders. Yet, they were again flawlessly quoting the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) to explain all that was happening.

When you spend time with Jesus, it changes you. When you spend a lot of time with Jesus, others will start to wonder what happened to you. They'll ask for your secret.

This is when we tell them the honest truth: There is salvation in no other name. Jesus has changed the world, and He will continue to do so, one soul at a time.

"The point of v. 13b is that the authorities recognized not only that these men were companions of Jesus, but that in terms of their amazing speech, and lack of training, they were cut from the same cloth." -Witherington, B., III. (1998). The Acts of the Apostles (p. 196)

Day 156: Acts 3:1-26

“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago." - Acts 3:19-21 ESV

In Acts 2, we saw God perform a miracle with tongues of fire, enabling the disciples to speak in other languages. That sign opened up the opportunity for Peter to share a message that inaugurated the Church as we know it today.

In today's reading, we see another miraculous event that paves the way for a second sermon from Peter. A man who was “lame from birth” was given the instantaneous ability to walk and leap, which resulted in praise. Luke records that the crowd is utterly “astounded" and soon surrounds Peter, John, and this newly restored man. This was another moment where Peter could have shared anything, and again he doubles down on this idea of repentance.

These people didn't need to be entertained or impressed. They, instead, needed a change.

The Greek word for repent is μετανοέω metanoeō and is used 34 times in the New Testament. Louw and Nida's definition of the word is on point: "to change one’s way of life as the result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness."

They needed a reset from what they had been thinking and living. I don't know about you, but this is something that I need every day. May we beg God each day for a greater desire for minds and lives that honor and glorify Him.

"The meaning of repent (2:38) is clarified by the addition of turn again (RSV) or rather ‘turn to (sc. God)’ (so other modern versions). This verb signifies the act of turning away from one’s former way of life, especially from the worship of idols, to a new way of life, based on faith and obedience to God (cf. Isa. 6:10; Joel 2:12–14). The immediate result will be the ‘blotting out of their sins’; the list of accusations against them will be obliterated (cf. Col. 2:14), which is another way of saying that their sins are forgiven (2:38)." - Marshall, I. H. (1980). Acts: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 5, p. 99)

Day 155: Acts 2:1-47

“Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” - Acts 2:37-38 ESV

The same Peter who rebuked Jesus, cut off someone's ear, and denied our Savior three times, is now found here stepping up in the inaugural moment of the Christian Church to preach the very first message. It was a sermon given in response to skeptics who were claiming that the disciples had been sipping too heavily on the "new wine."

What struck me from our reading today is how strong of a message Peter brought these thousands of Jews who had gathered for the Jewish feast of Pentecost.

“You crucified Jesus” isn't how I usually start a time of sharing my faith with someone else, but this crowd needed desperately to hear the truth. Turns out, they were starved for it. So much so that Peter continued with "many other words" saying, "save yourself from this perverse generation."

Result? 3,000 souls were brought into eternal life.

Now, there is such a thing as being belligerent, but there is also such a thing as being too passive in our approach to sharing our faith with others. May God help us find the balance today between the two so that we can effectively reach those who need Jesus.

"It is thus quite correct to stress that in Acts 2 we see repentance (and faith) leading to baptism, the forgiveness of sins, and the reception of the Holy Spirit. This was apparently normally the case. Acts then provides us with a record of ‘missionary’ baptisms, stories about the conversion of those on the outside who are then brought into the family of Christian faith." - Witherington, B., III. (1998). The Acts of the Apostles (pp. 154–155)

Day 154: Acts 1:1-26

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” - Acts 1:8 ESV

Jesus dies, resurrects, and spends extended time with His disciples over the course of forty days, and yet the disciples continue to hold out hope for Him to restore political independence away from Rome. In their minds, the term Messiah and abandonment couldn't coincide.

For their benefit, Jesus condenses all that He had told them in John 14-16 down to one statement: They were to receive power from the Holy Spirit, and we will see how this empowerment materializes in our reading tomorrow.

The Holy Spirit doesn't come into us as Christians to just make us good people; He also comes to make us powerful. We aren't given a spirit of passivity when we place our faith in Jesus. Quite the opposite (see 1 Timothy 1:7).

The word for witnesses here is the Greek word martys, which is also translated, of course, as martyr.  These men and women Jesus was sending out weren't promised power that would exempt them from suffering. Instead, they were promised power that would enable them to be willing to die as they shared the Good News of Jesus with the entire Roman Empire.

This is the same power that is at work in us today.

Holy Spirit, enable us to do what we cannot. Drive us from passivity and into a powerful life of dependence on you. In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen.

“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” - Romans 8:11 NIV

"Instead of indulging in wishful thinking or apocalyptic speculation, the disciples must accomplish their task of being witnesses to Jesus. The scope of their task is worldwide. It begins with Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and it stretches to the end of the earth."- Marshall, I. H. (1980). Acts: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 5, p. 65)

Day 153: John 21:1-25

“Now there were many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” - John 21:25 ESV

We've come to the end of our reading of the four biographies of Jesus' life and ministry. Many throughout history, and even today, struggle with what isn't included in these four accounts. It has been said that if you stretched out the scroll of John's gospel it would stretch ninety feet, and yet many of us wish there were at least ninety-two.

John's final statement doesn't help us if we're feeling this way. So many interactions and healings and teachings that we know nothing about. It is clear what we want. We want to know more about Jesus. Yet John, in his own way, is telling us that we have everything we need in what has been written.

What do we need to know to experience eternal life?

• Jesus is the Son of God (John 1:1-5)

• Jesus desires us to be born again (John 3:3-5)

• Jesus was on a love-driven rescue mission (John 3:16-17)

• Jesus was crucified for our sins (John 19:30)

• Jesus was raised (John 20:1-10)

Our job? To worship this Jesus daily. To share His Good News with everyone we encounter.

We have all we need.

"He ends with an expression of human inadequacy. We can never know or appreciate Christ enough. The splendor of Christ surpasses and eludes our senses and abilities or capacities. The Gospel of John ends with Christ’s triumphs, his power, and his grace." - Bryant, B. H., & Krause, M. S. (1998). John (Jn 21:25)

Day 152: John 20:1-31

“Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.” - John 20:8-9 ESV

First of all, how funny is it that John (who is now elderly as he writes) felt the need to slip in the detail about him smoking Peter in a foot race to the empty tomb? As men grow older, their need heightens to let others know of their athletic feats.

Have you ever thought about how the early disciples of Jesus were able to help prove Jesus' resurrection via the Hebrew Bible? For the first 20 or so years of the church, the New Testament as we know it didn't exist (James and Galatians were probably written around 50 AD). Of course, having eyewitness testimony didn't hurt their ability to convince people concerning the empty tomb!

In Acts 13:32-38, the Apostle Paul gives us a glimpse of the passages he used (Psalm 2:7, Isaiah 55:3, Psalm 16:10).

Jesus' resurrection is proof that the "everlasting covenant" (Isaiah 55:3) that was first introduced to the Jews is alive and well today.

This is yet another example of the commitment and investment God has made into His church today.

Jesus lives now to pray for us, to see us through to the end of our lives or His second coming (whichever comes first; see Hebrews 7:25).

"It is important to note the emphasis John and other NT writers place upon the importance of the empty tomb. For them the resurrection of Jesus was certainly not just ‘spiritual’ survival after death; it involved a real resurrection of the body." - Kruse, C. G. (2003). John: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 4, p. 370)

Day 151: John 19:23-42

“When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” - John 19:30 ESV

Even as Jesus is in His final moments, He's still fulfilling Messianic prophecies from the Hebrew Bible. In our short reading for today, John mentions four of these prophecies:

Psalm 22:18 - "They divided my garments."

Psalm 69:21 - "I thirst."

Psalm 34:20 - "He protects all his bones, none broken."

Zechariah 12:10 - "They will look on the one they have pierced."

John's primary objective in writing this fourth biography is to show us (without a doubt) that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. Even as Jesus is drawing His final breaths, we see that He is in more control of these moments than His opponents can even begin to know.

These events were so impressive that they caused two Pharisees to go from private to public with their faith in Jesus (Joseph and Nicodemus).

How about you? Are you ready to submerge yourself in the events of the cross, to trust this crucified Jesus for salvation?

One of Jesus' original disciples, Peter, said it so well:

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God." - 1 Peter 3:18

Check out this page if you’re ready to take your next faith step toward Jesus today.